Unreasonable Expectation?

[kollegekreed]

I've never understood the thought process behind booking a guarantee cabin. Unlike hotels and restaurants, where they stick you where they want, the cruise ship is one of the few places in life where they let you decide.QUOTE]

 

Ill try to help. For a large number of us, as long as we're on the ship we couldn't care if we were on floor 4 or floor 10, midship or aft...and this makes it cheaper.

Edited January 19, 2015 by kollegekreed

[mugtech]

My question would be "How much money did you save by booking a gty instead of picking a specific cabin, and was it worth it?"

[Oakman58]

My question would be "How much money did you save by booking a gty instead of picking a specific cabin, and was it worth it?"

 

 

I changed my mind and decided to respond again.

 

I believe I already mentioned that at the time I booked this cruise there were no mid-ship balconies available and my only choice was to select a BA guarantee. It wasn't about saving money it was about trying to get a mid-ship balcony.

 

I stupidly thought the BA guarantee would be any mid-ship cabin on decks 9, 10, or 11. I realize now how wrong I was. Lesson learned.

 

When I booked this cruise last week, the only other option was to pick a mid-ship cabin in the mini-suite category. I didn't do that because that really was all about the money.

Edited January 19, 2015 by Oakman58

[sjbdtz]

I changed my mind and decided to respond again.

 

I believe I already mentioned that at the time I booked this cruise there were no mid-ship balconies available and my only choice was to select a BA guarantee. It wasn't about saving money it was about trying to get a mid-ship balcony.

 

I stupidly thought the BA guarantee would be any mid-ship cabin on decks 9, 10, or 11. I realize now how wrong I was. Lesson learned.

 

When I booked this cruise last week, the only other option was to pick a mid-ship cabin in the mini-suite category. I didn't do that because that really was all about the money.

 

 

Okay..so now I'm finally curious.

 

If you KNEW that the BA mid-ship cabins were sold-out, how were you still expecting to be assigned one, with the guarantee? I would have thought it obvious at that juncture that the only option for the cruise-line would be to upgrade you from there.

 

 

I have a second question: Would you have been happy with BB, BC, BD, etc? Those would have been balconies in other areas of the ship. If you would have been okay with those, then you could have bought a BX.

 

If the answer is NO, then your purchase of a BA Upgrade for $60 extra was reasonable....but you're disappointed that when they looked upward to what upgrades were available, the next-in-line wasn't mid-ship.

 

 

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[Oakman58]

I think you're missing the point also. The guarantee is for category.

 

I agree that it is misleading....that "the uneducated cruise booker" would think that it was a mid ship guarantee. (This is why there are cruise consultants...to help.)

 

But, the OP did have experience with with "guarantees" and he was aware that BA category was already sold out. So, where did he expect to be put? Sounds to me like he was trying to beat the system for upgrade to mini-suite.

 

I think OP is a lot more savvy than he lets on...........

 

Booking a BX category one time doesn't mean I understand the entire booking process. I wish I was a lot more savvy, I would have booked a different cruise. All I was wanting was a mid-ship balcony pure and simple. I wasn't trying to beat the system or get a mini-suite. I can't believe how many folks want to discredit me. As I said, I now realize that BA / GTY on my confirmation doesn't mean BA. I'll take the cabin assigned and enjoy my cruise. Although I'm still waiting for someone to tell me what makes the family balcony assigned to me a higher category than a BA.

[bowbiter]

I think " family just means closer to kids club and connecting cabins (in case families have to split up between rooms)

 

The way NCL categorized stuff makes no sense. And they need to fix their wording for guarantees

 

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[hawkeyetlse]

I think " family just means closer to kids club and connecting cabins (in case families have to split up between rooms)

 

The way NCL categorized stuff makes no sense. And they need to fix their wording for guarantees

The kid's clubs on the Dawn are all the way aft, so I agree that the B3 family balconies Deck 8 Forward make no sense.

 

As for "guarantee", this is standard booking terminology across all major cruise lines. It's true that a lot of people who are new to booking cruises get confused by it or just don't bother to find out how guarantees work before they book one, but whose fault is that, really? And what wording would you suggest to be clearer?

 

Oakman58, I mentioned earlier the possibility of asking NCL to switch you to another B3. There are still 15 of them showing as available on Deck 9 Aft, and it sounds to me like one of those, near the aft elevators, would be better for your knees (since you mentioned distance to the dining room in your first message). Plus they are all regular balconies, not hull balconies. Now that you have given up your "I was conned by NCL's deceptive business practices" rhetoric and accept at least some responsibility for not booking what you wanted, you may be in a better frame of mind to get them to work with you. Their first response will always be that they don't reassign guarantees, but your sail date is approaching fast and B3 is nowhere near sold out, so I think they probably have some leeway here.

[MsTabbyKats]

The kid's clubs on the Dawn are all the way aft, so I agree that the B3 family balconies Deck 8 Forward make no sense.

 

As for "guarantee", this is standard booking terminology across all major cruise lines. It's true that a lot of people who are new to booking cruises get confused by it or just don't bother to find out how guarantees work before they book one, but whose fault is that, really? And what wording would you suggest to be clearer?

 

Oakman58, I mentioned earlier the possibility of asking NCL to switch you to another B3. There are still 15 of them showing as available on Deck 9 Aft, and it sounds to me like one of those, near the aft elevators, would be better for your knees (since you mentioned distance to the dining room in your first message). Plus they are all regular balconies, not hull balconies. Now that you have given up your "I was conned by NCL's deceptive business practices" rhetoric and accept at least some responsibility for not booking what you wanted, you may be in a better frame of mind to get them to work with you. Their first response will always be that they don't reassign guarantees, but your sail date is approaching fast and B3 is nowhere near sold out, so I think they probably have some leeway here.

 

I agree...and I would get (or offer to get) a doctor's letter stating that you have knee issues.

 

I do think admitting that you misunderstood their terminology would help...since it really isn't clear. Anybody who isn't familiar with the system would make the same error.

 

ETA-I also don't understand how the family balcony category is an upgrade.

Edited January 19, 2015 by MsTabbyKats

[fshagan]

Oakman58, I mentioned earlier the possibility of asking NCL to switch you to another B3. There are still 15 of them showing as available on Deck 9 Aft, and it sounds to me like one of those, near the aft elevators, would be better for your knees (since you mentioned distance to the dining room in your first message). Plus they are all regular balconies, not hull balconies. Now that you have given up your "I was conned by NCL's deceptive business practices" rhetoric and accept at least some responsibility for not booking what you wanted, you may be in a better frame of mind to get them to work with you. Their first response will always be that they don't reassign guarantees, but your sail date is approaching fast and B3 is nowhere near sold out, so I think they probably have some leeway here.

 

I think this is the best solution, and you might get the accessibility department involved because of your knee issue; they don't have to accommodate you but they are more likely to due to a recent issue that changed your situation.

[cliffd64]

Lessons to be learned here , as applies to ALL guarantee cabins:

 

1.) If you are at all particular about where your cabin is - don't pick the guarantee cabin. Simple. Pick the exact cabin you want in the exact location and be sure and content in your choice.

 

2.) NCL's definition of what is a better cabin category might not agree with yours. For example, they might consider ANY outside cabin to be better than any inside cabin. This might not be the case... maybe I don't want to be on deck 5 near the anchor in an outside cabin... If you don't like this scenario, don't book guarantees. In the OP's case NCL considers any B3 regardless of location to be better than a BA. Clearly the OP doesn't agree. However, the promise of the guarantee was fulfilled. OP agreed to accept what was given by booking the guarantee.

 

3.) If you have a physical requirement to be in a specific cabin location, other than the cheaper price, why in the world would you consider a guarantee in the first place? Guarantees are not for you if this describes your needs.

 

4.) A guarantee in any category does not mean you are guaranteed a cabin in that category. The key words are "at least" and "or higher".

 

 

I've done several guarantees over the years, and it can be tricky and risky. Sorry that the OP is disappointed. Hope it all works out in the end.